Corb7 International January 2011 Newsletter

Scam Alert!!

• The Nigerian Scam Lives
• How it Works
• Useful Reports on Financial Scams

Asset Protection & Business Solutions

The Nigerian Scam Lives

Apparently, the Nigerian scam (also known as the 4-1-9 scam which refers to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud) is alive and well. In the last two weeks alone we have received two separate emails with thinly veiled attempts to solicit information from our office. It is simply amazing that this still exists. One would have thought that after years of public awareness, this con would have become comical and thus completely ineffective. It seems that numerous variations, however, have managed to breathe life back into it. If you are not familiar with this iconic swindle take a look.

Click here

We first become aware of the Nigerian Scam almost 20 years ago when a client of ours that owned a helicopter company was approached via fax. At the time, the internet was new and the general public was not as familiar with this type of activity. We assisted the client in due diligence and stopped the scam in its tracks but not before actually speaking with someone over the phone in Lagos, Nigeria. That conversation was an interesting experience to say the least. Over the last two decades, the Nigerian Scam with its many variations has been purportedly responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars being stolen.

How it Works

The scam frequently starts with an urgent e-mail from a foreign country in the name of a government leader or self-described desperate member of a wealthy family. There is a plea for your personal assistance to help move a large sum of funds for which they will compensate you with a percentage of the transaction. This “reward” usually amounts to seven figures. Ultimately, the goal of the con is to obtain as much financial information as they can from you in order to steal your identity or better yet get you to front cash in order to “grease the wheels.”

If you are approached we would strongly suggest not engaging at all with these people. Obviously, if the solicitation comes to you via email it is very easy to just hit the delete button. Do not take them lightly because more serious and violent crimes have been traced to this scam. Most of this information is pretty much common sense but it’s always useful to have your finger on the pulse of what is going on.

Useful Reports on Financial Scams:

http://travel.state.gov/pdf/international_financial_scams_brochure.pdf
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123093987596650197.html
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/financial_scams/financial_scams_3155.html
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/08/stop-scams.asp